Anarchism

Itís not a form of statism. Anarchists donít want to impose their value-system on anyone else.
Itís not terrorism - the cop who wears the gun to scare you into obeying him - is the terrorist.
Governments threaten to punish any man or woman who defies state power, and therefore the state really
amounts to an institution of terror.
Anarchism never relies on fear to accomplish anything because a person who is afraid is not free.
Hereís what Anarchists believe:

Government is an unnecessary evil.

Human beings, when accustomed to taking responsibility for their own behaviour, can
cooperate on a basis of mutual trust and helpfulness.

No true reform is possible that leaves government intact.

Appeals to a government for a redress of grievances, even when acted upon, only increase
the supposed legitimacy of the governmentís acts, and add therefore to its amassed power.

Government will be abolished when its subjects cease to grant it legitimacy.

Government cannot exist without the tacit consent of the populace. This consent is
maintained by keeping people in ignorance of their real power. Voting is not an expression of
power, but an admission of powerlessness, since it cannot do otherwise than reaffirm the
governmentís supposed legitimacy.

Every person must have the right to make all decisions about his or her own life.

All moralistic meddling in the private affairs of freely-acting persons is unjustified.
Behaviour which does not affect uninvolved persons is nobodyís business but the participantsí.

We are not bound by constitutions or agreements made by our ancestors

Any constitution, contract or agreement that purports to bind unborn generations - or in fact
anyone other than the actual parties to it - is a despicable falsehood and a presumptuous fraud.
We are free agents liable only for such as we ourselves undertake.

All governments survive on theft and extortion, called taxation. All governments force their decrees on
the people and command obedience under threat of punishment.
The principal outrages of history have been committed by governments, while every advancement of
thought, every betterment in the human condition, has come about through the practices of voluntary
cooperation and individual initiative. The principle of government, which is force, is opposed to the free
exercise of our ability to think, act and cooperate.
Whenever government is established, it causes more harm than it forestalls. Under the guise of
protecting populaces from crime and violence, governments not only do not eradicate random, individual
crime, but they institutionalize such varieties as censorship and war.
All governments enlarge upon and extend their powers; under government, the rights of the individual
constantly diminish.

Anarchism is in favour of a free society organized along lines of cooperation and mutual aid. If
you would like to know more about this forward-looking philosophy, read some of the books written
by Anarchists, or contact one of the Anarchist organizations or periodicals.